People walk down the main street of San Jose December 23, 2011. Costa Rica's population growth has sunk to an annual rate of 1.1 percent over the last 11 years, the slowest increase since 1864 when the first census was taken, according to Costa Rica's National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC). According to local media, the 2011 census found that the population is now 4,301,712 inhabitants, well below what experts had estimated as more couples are putting off procreating and having fewer and fewer children. REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate (COSTA RICA - Tags: SOCIETY)